Urban Solar Flower Acts As Streetlight, Gadget Recharging Station

A new design from Eva Harlou takes a giant, solar powered street lamp, outfits it with outlets for recharging gadgets, and makes it look like a giant, blooming flower.

Don't you hate it when you're away from home and your phone is almost dead? A new solar lamp design from Eva Harlou looks to address this issue, via a streetlight modeled after a flower.

Meant for urban environments, the flower features a number of leaves with solar panels on them, so that it can gather power during the day. These leaves can be moved and turned so as to be in the best sun position possible. This power can then be used by pedestrians to recharge their gadgets on the go, and at night it serves as a street lamp. And whatever energy is left over can be transferred to the power grid.

The lamp is also meant to serve a social function, as those who sit down to recharge their electronics can chat with one another, and it also serves an aesthetic function, as well. "The solar energy lamp proves that sustainable and high-tech design can be beautiful," writes Harlou on her blog. "The flower as a motive stands in contrast to the urban environment and symbolizes something peaceful and poetic."